Pork Loin Roast

This pork loin roast calls for nothing more than boneless pork loin, olive oil, salt, and pepper. With so few ingredients, the pork flavor resonates loud and clear. It’s incredibly easy to make. In fact, the hardest thing about this recipe is being patient during its long, slow cooking time. Make sure you select a pork loin with a thick layer of fat to keep it moist and flavorful.

This boneless pork loin roast is easy and old-fashioned and just like what your grandma would put on the table for Sunday night supper. No marinade. No fuss. Just shove it in the oven for its long slow cooking time while you do something else. Then take it to the table and accept accolades on just how incredibly moist and superlatively go-wobbly-in-the-knees flavorful it is. The trick? It’s all in the proper cut of pork, which we explain below. Originally published September 23, 2013.–Renee Schettler Rossi

How To Make Roast Pork Loin That's Impossibly Flavorful

The author of this recipe explains that although boneless pork loin itself is quite lean and tends to have a more subtle flavor than meat from the shoulders or the legs, it ends up being ridiculously tasty because of its ample outer layer of fat. As the warmth of the oven melts the fat, the fat bathes the underlying meat with its unctuous awesomeness.

So herein lies the trick—find a boneless pork loin roast with a generous layer of fat atop, which is where the flavor comes from. You may have to go to a few butcher counters before you’ll find one that has a nice, thick layer of fat attached. Persist. And if you can sweet talk your butcher into special ordering a boneless pork loin with the skin still attached, do it! The skin, which sits above the fat, will transform into crisp cracklings during roasting. Otherwise go ahead and buy one without skin but with the thickest layer of fat that you can find and turn the fat side up during roasting. If the pork loin seems loose at all, tie it with kitchen string every couple inches.

Pork Loin Roast Recipe

Ingredients

One2-poundboneless pork loin roast, with a generously thick layer of fat and, if possible, with the skin still attached, tied with string*

1 to 2teaspoonsmild olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper and coarse kosher or sea salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 475°F (250°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet or shallow roasting pan with foil.

2. Pat the pork skin with paper towels until its completely dry. Using a sharp knife, score the skin by making deep, long, parallel cuts, 1/8 to 1/4 inch apart, in the fat, being careful not to cut through to the underlying pork. Rub the skin with the oil and then sprinkle with pepper and a generous amount of coarse salt.

3. Place the pork on a wire rack, skin or fat side up, and place the whole shebang on the baking sheet or in the roasting pan. Roast for 25 minutes. (The initial high temperature promotes crisp crackling, which is the skin.) Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C) and cook the pork 45 minutes longer, turning the pan around halfway through. The meat should be slightly pink in the middle although the juices flowing from the pork should not be bloody. If you have a meat thermometer, it should read 145°F (63°C). You may need to adjust the cooking time, depending on the weight of the pork roast. (A basic guide is to allow 22 minutes per pound for medium done. If you like your pork more well-done, cook it for 27 minutes per pound.)

4. Transfer the pork roast to a warm platter and let it rest in a warm, draft-free place for 10 to 20 minutes before carving. Don’t cover the roast, because any steam coming from the resting pork will soften the cracklings. (Alternatively, to make the cracklings extra crisp, remove the entire portion of skin, or cracklings, from the pork loin, cover the pork loin with foil, and place the cracklings on the baking sheet or in the roasting pan in the oven, which you’ve cranked up to 425°F (220°C), or give the cracklings a quick blast under a hot broiler.)

5. To carve the pork roast, remove the cracklings, if you haven’t already done so, and cut the crisp pork skin into strips. Carve the pork roast across the grain into thin (or thick) slices, arrange them on a platter, and off you go.

*How To Tie A Roast

This recipe calls for your raw blob of boneless pork loin to be “tied with string.” No more instruction than that. Back in the day when boneless pork roast was common, this sorta “tied with string” thing went without saying. Home cooks knew how to do it because they’d observed someone else in the kitchen or behind the butcher counter do just that. But if that doesn’t hold true for you, rest assured, it’s essentially just folding or rolling the flap of boneless pork loin into a cylinder and tying and knotting it with kitchen string at intervals every few inches. The tying creates structure and helps the pork cook evenly. And it’s really quite easy. No need to measure. No need to be precise. Just needs to hold the roast together.

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Recipe Testers Reviews

Easy, simple, delicious. The only fault I can find with this pork loin roast is the relative unavailability of a classic pork roast with skin. Most butchers today don’t have any of the fat or skin left on the pork they bring into their shops. I was unable to find a roast as described in the recipe even after checking with 4 different butchers. One butcher and I finally arrived at a workable compromise—he took some skin from a leg he had and tied it around a lovely rib end pork loin roast. This was the perfect solution.

I then followed the recipe as written, using salt and pepper as the only seasoning. The end results were well worth the effort and a simple, shining example of everything a pork roast should be. The initial high temperature for 45 minutes does make for a very crisp crackling on top. I had to roast it for 90 minutes at the lower temperature (2 hours total), as the roast was closer to 5 pounds, and after being in the oven for 45 minutes, it was still much too rare in the middle. After it had finished roasting, I removed the cracking and put it under the broiler for a couple of minutes to crisp the other side while the roast rested. If you can get a butcher to cooperate, this roast makes for a perfect weekend meal with simple sides so the pork takes center stage.

My new favorite recipe for pork loin roast. Though I couldn’t get a roast with the skin still attached, I was able to buy a nice one with lots of fat on the outside. I scored that, like the skin was supposed to be done, and roasted it according to the recipe. Roasting time to reach 140°F (60°C), the internal temperature I’m looking for with pork loin, was 40 minutes at 350°F (177°C) after the initial high-temperature roasting phase. Resting time was 20 minutes. The outcome was fantastic: a nicely browned, crisp exterior that was super juicy inside. Definitely a keeper.

This recipe was amazing! I highly recommend it. The roasting temperatures—from a start of 475°F (250°C) and then the reduced level of 350°F (180°C)—worked perfectly. I made sure my roast had a nice layer of fat. Searing the pork roast at the high oven temperature crisped the fat and added a delicious flavor. I chose to cook the roast for only 22 minutes per pound at the lower temperature, and the roast was moist and delicious. I followed the ingredient list precisely and was amazed that such simple ingredients could produce such scrumptious results. Also used the drippings to make a small amount of drizzling sauce, and I think that was the clincher for this delightful entrée.

This roasting method produced a silken and moist result. I roasted a 4-pound boneless pork loin. My roast was sans skin due to lack of availability. However, the roast was still excellent. The high heat at the beginning created a caramelized crust and the drop in temperature left the center moist. I prefer to pull a pork roast from the oven at about 137°F (58°C) and let the temperature rise to 145°F (63°F) during the rest. 20 minutes per pound was a good time estimation for planning’s sake. The thin slices of meat fell like velvet on the cutting board. Adding a few crushed garlic cloves scattered around the roasting pan would add a wonderful fragrance and flavor.

Finding a pork loin with skin was very difficult. No one seemed to have it. After determining on the phone that one particular butcher shop had a skin-on pork loin, I made the trip across town. I spoke to the same young man that I had on the phone, who seemed to remember me. But I got home and discovered that I had a pork loin with a lovely fat cap…but no skin. (I’m barely 5 feet tall and can’t see over any counter anywhere.) After spending $27 for pork loin, I’m writing an evaluation anyway. Following the timing given in the recipe, my pork hit 170°F (77°C). The fat crisped nicely, and it all tasted great. I made a quick gravy from the drippings, some Wondra, and some white wine, and it was nice with the pork loin. This was very tender and tasty pork.

Comments

This looks delightful. I have the hardest time finding a pork loin roast here in LA (at least a roast with a fat cap and skin. So I end up taking a pork tenderloin and wrapping it in raw pork belly, then tying it off. Works like a charm and is often cheaper than a loin roast.

Ahhhhhh, quite nice, bkhuna. And just to state the obvious, chicharróns are always, always, always a very good thing…especially in contrast to the ridiculously tender pork loin that this roast presents to you. Thanks!

Rachelle, you probably could, although the timing may be somewhat longer. In addition, you’ll want to check the internal temperature not just of the pork roast but also of the stuffing inside the pork roast to be certain that it’s cooked to the proper temperature.

I made this one last night. Like others here, I did not have a loin with the skin on, but found one with enough fat on it to do the trick. The cooking times and temperatures from the recipe worked perfectly for my 2-pound roast. And wow, the crunch on that after time at 475, that’s just magic. It was really succulent roast. I will definitely be using this recipe again, as it is dead simple and turns out an excellent roast.

Renee & David – Just two cents worth for the city folk posting here. I am an organic veg farmer on the Nebraska prairie. Real boondocks out here, but most small towns have a kinda sorta butcher shop/processor/locker. Some owned by experienced geezers like me (72 years old); some owned/operated by relatively inexperienced young guys/gals who may not have had any formal training in butchery at all. I don’t raise pigs, but my good farmer friend down the road raises one for me every year – relatively free range, organically raised, no chemicals or hormones, non-GMO supplemental feed, etc. And, perhaps most importantly he raises only a few pigs each year of one of several heritage varieties. Believe me, the pork from a Red Wattle hog raised out of doors is totally different from a factory-raised, hormone-injected, GMO Grain-fed pig bred to reach market weight in half the time it takes a naturally raised pig. For one – it is red meat, not white meat, and it has much more flavor.

But – even with all those rural advantages, I was not able to get any of these rustic butchers to prep me a loin as David describes above (fat and skin left on the loin). One old dude butcher said that he remembered doing loins like 50 years ago, but had forgotten how to do it.

I am prepping a 12 lb loin for Christmas dinner right now for 20-some kids, grandkids and great grandkids, and will follow your recipe exactly except that I will replace the salt&pepper rub with aoili with lots of fresh rosemary mixed in. For my family, roast pork almost requires garlic and rosemary. (Learned that living in Northern Italy many years ago!)

Merry Christmas and thanks for maintaining an interesting website and having so many courteous, involved readers. There is so much snark on the internet that it is very refreshing for an old man to encounter folks that are respectful of each other. I will be back.

Hello! I made this for the first time last week and my parents and brothers loved it, saying it was the most succulent pork loin they had ever had. Everyone in my family has a day where we cook dinner because everyone is either working or studying and when it came my turn, I felt bored of the same pork dishes, so I perused Google in hopes of finding some inspiration. Happenstance, I found this recipe and thanks to all the rave reviews, decided to try it.

My pork loin didn’t have any skin, but it did have a substantial layer of fat, enough to crisp up. The only things I did differently were add a dusting of garlic powder, and adjust the cooking time. After crisping the skin at the recommended temperature, I dropped the oven down to 340 degrees and instead cooked 19 minutes per pound. Accompanied by sides–green beans with caramelized onions, candied carrots, and roasted potatoes–the four and a half pound pork loin was by far the best I have made (it was also the first pork loin I ever made). Thank you for this recipe, I look forward to making it again.

I also had difficulty finding a roast with the fat still attached. I laid 3 full strips of thawed bacon across the pork loin rib end boneless roast. Prior to this, I rolled the roast in a combination of olive oil, fresh rosemary leaves, ground black peppercorns, and a few twists of pink Himalayan sea salt. I sometimes add crushed red pepper spice. It never tastes the same twice but it’s close.

I made this tonight and it is hands down the easiest and best way to roast a pork loin. My roast was 3.3 lbs with a nice layer of fat on top. Since our oven runs a bit hot I roasted it at 450 for 20 minutes and reduced temp to 325. I pulled it from the oven at 145 and let it rest for 30 minutes and it was perfect. Fat drippings made a fabulous gravy.

I found this recipe after I had already purchased a nice pork loin with the skin. I was at a local butcher who specialized in organic pork and I asked if they had any with skin and they said they could make me one. I had fond memories of my mom making pork roast with crispy skin when I was a kid.

However, I actually had no idea how to cook it. I found this recipe and it made a great roast. My wife and daughter didn’t like the skin but it was perfect. Salty and crispy and easy to chew. Easily the equivalent of my moms best. My wife and daughter did like the roast and found it tender and delicious. A big thanks.

Mike, you are so very welcome. Responses like yours are exactly why we do what we do. Exactly. I envy you that salty, crispy pork skin! We so appreciate you taking the time to let us know how well this worked and are looking forward to hearing which recipe on the site you try next. Rest assured, we test each recipe we’re considering for the site multiple times and only those recipes that receive the highest kudos end up being published on our site, so you can make them with confidence. Wishing you and yours all the magic of the season…

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